


Fever Dreams

by echoing_winds



Category: Tales of Destiny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 10:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8975821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoing_winds/pseuds/echoing_winds
Summary: On a stroll through Radisrol, Chaltier finds out that Judas got sick and sees it as his duty to take care of him but it doesn't go exactly as planned.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A big thanks to Angelle_wings for helping me with this story! It wouldn't be the same without her!

Chaltier puffed out his chest, a smug grin adorning his face. His arms still felt heavy from carrying that device for Dr. Harold, but he didn't care about that. He had been able to help her! He had shown everyone that he could accomplish something if given the chance. He was proud of himself. At first, he had been wondering why Dr. Harold had asked him, out of all people. But he had quickly decided not to give it any further thought. She must have acknowledged him and decided no one else could help her! Yes, he had been the only one who could do it! Still, he wondered what those parts had been for. The Swordians had been finished already, he thought, as his hand came to rest on the hilt of his very own Swordian, Swordian Chaltier, swaying with every step he took. She did tell him that she originally wanted to ask him to gather some loot from monsters but then decided to let him carry the device to her lab instead. It had sparked his curiosity. What could she be working on now?

The sound of shards rattling on the ground echoed through the hallway, pulling Chaltier out of his thoughts.

"Just leave me alone!" A familiar voice, though raspier than he remembered, came from one of the rooms up ahead. Lieutenant Karell's room, Chaltier noticed. A coughing fit that lasted longer than Chaltier thought was normal followed the angry voice.

"How can I leave you like this? Seriously, you're way more stubborn than any child I've seen in Hope Town!" A second voice yelled, obviously upset, and then went on in a gentler voice, "I understand if you don't want Loni or Kyle looking after you. I mean I wouldn't do that myself, but at least let me or Reala-"

She broke off as another coughing fit started.

That had been Judas and Nanaly, hadn't it? The group had appeared out of nowhere quite a while ago, but they were terrifically strong and talented. It was strange they hadn't joined the Er'ther forces before. They would have been such an enrichment to the troops. But despite all the praise the group had earned during their stay so far being more than justified, Chaltier couldn't help the jealousy he felt pricking into his side.  _ He _ had never been praised like them before.  _ He _ had to fight for every tiny bit of approval. It wasn't  _ fair _ .

But he swallowed his grudge and peaked into the room. Judas was leaning against the wall for support, his legs shaking, one hand rubbing his temples. Nanaly stood in front of him, trying to guide him to one of the beds. A broken vase lay beside them. Chaltier frowned. Lieutenant Karell wouldn't be happy to see their guests breaking his stuff.

"I don't need you looking after me," Judas snapped, but his voice lacked any sharpness. Instead, it too was shaking. Chaltier felt sorry for him. When the group had first entered the meeting room, Chaltier had already been enchanted by him. There was something about him he couldn't put into words. The way he moved, the way he spoke, something about him felt so...  _ perfect _ . Not that Chaltier had told anyone about it. They would just think of it as his 'usual crushing', as they tended to call it. They would laugh it off the same way they had laughed about him admiring Lieutenant Karell or General Dymlos or Igtenos. It wasn't anything like that though! There was more behind it, yet he was struggling to put it into words.

Nanaly ignored Judas' weak protest. When she touched him, he flinched away, then caught himself and allowed her to let her guide him to the bed. She stayed close until he laid down. Even from where he was standing, Chaltier could see his face reddened from fever and listening to him wheezing was unsettling. When they had gone to pick up the Swordians, Judas seemed fine. How could he have gotten so sick suddenly? And at this time? They were going to invade Dycroft soon! He couldn't get sick now!

"Honestly, if you hadn't sneaked out last night to do who knows what, you wouldn’t be sick now,” Nanaly scolded, and even Chaltier could see Judas’ face being struck by shock. "Oh, why are you looking so surprised? Don’t think we didn’t notice you were gone!”

Judas muttered something but Chaltier was too far away to catch any words. Nanaly nodded and turned around. Chaltier quickly rushed aside, acting as if he was just walking by, whistling innocently. Nanaly greeted him but didn't stay long enough to tell him she had noticed him. She hurried off somewhere.

Chaltier looked after her until she disappeared out of his sight, then turned his attention to Judas again. He shot swift glances around him to make sure no one was around to question him, then disappeared inside the room and closed the door. There had to be something he could do.

As quietly as he could, Chaltier walked closer to the bed. For a moment, he was certain he could hear a soft voice speaking, hushed and gentle and yet so familiar. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared though, and Chaltier wasn't sure if he had just imagined it.

Judas opened his eyes glazed with fever and let out a hoarse, "Chal?"

Chaltier could have sworn he felt his heart break. That was not the same person he had met before. When he had seen him before, he had looked so strong. Right now, though, Judas was nothing more than a picture of misery, with flushed cheeks and gasping for breath, not much different from any other boys his age who had come down with sickness. So defenseless, so reliant.

Chaltier sat down beside him, instinctively reaching out to brush hair out of his half-closed eyes. "Hi, uh, how are you feeling?" That was a no-brainer, he knew that, but it seemed awkward not to start a conversation. Not that Judas would answer much, he guessed.

All Judas managed to bring forth was a weak groan, but the tenseness seemed to leave his body, as Chaltier's hand came to rest against his cheek. He almost withdrew it but forced himself to stay still as he watched Judas' positive reaction. The boy's face was burning. Surely Nanaly went to get some cold water and medicine, right?  _ Do they even have any medicine they can spare? _ Chaltier watched the boy anxiously. Medicine was one of the rarest goods they had, and from what he had heard before, there was barely any left. Would they even be willing to hand out some for Judas?

_ I could talk to Atwight! Surely she'd help if I ask her? _ He wished he could be more certain of it. But he wasn't. He couldn't be.

"Chal?" Judas' whisper pulled him out of his thoughts. Judas was looking at him with pleading eyes, his breath rattling in his chest.

Chaltier leaned closer, until their noses were almost touching. He could barely feel any breath coming from the boy. His heart lurched. Although he didn’t know much about illnesses - that was Atwight’s field of expertise, after all - it sounded like the illness sat in his lungs. Otherwise, he shouldn’t be having such trouble breathing, should he? "Is there something I can do for you? To make you feel better?" He had been able to help Dr. Harold before, but oh how did he wish he could help Judas instead? The knot of jealousy inside him lifted instantly. For the first time since their arrival, he didn't care about being acknowledged by General Dymlos and the others. For the first time, all he could think about was Judas and how the boy was looking at him. He  _ had _ to help him.

Ever so slightly, Judas' lips were moving and Chaltier was straining to understand him. "Stay..." His voice sounded so much softer than usually.

Chaltier blinked at him in surprise. He wanted him to  _ stay _ ? Him out of all people? "Don't you want water? Or medicine?"

He didn't know Judas' face could get any redder, and he checked his temperature just in case. His temperature didn't feel much different, but he certainly looked redder than before.

"Just stay," Judas grumbled, averting his gaze.

"I wasn't planning on leaving," he simply told him.

Judas gave him a weak smile and Chaltier swore he could have melted. It was a shame he always wore that mask and hid his face.

When he looked over his shoulder, he could see said mask resting on the table, unmoving and glowering at Chaltier. A chill ran down his spine. He didn’t want to imagine what creature that skull had originally belonged to. Although he had never seen a dragon himself, he had heard more than enough stories about them. Even after he had joined the troops, he had dreamt of slaying such a monster himself and becoming famous in the process. But after countless battles against monsters, he wasn’t so sure about that anymore. More often than enough, he had gotten off with a slap on the wrist, however, from what other soldiers had said, not even that luck would help him against a dragon. Maybe it was good to listen to them for once.

Did Judas kill the dragon himself? Or had the mask been a gift? Now that he thought about it, he really knew next to nothing about him and his friends. Not that there had been much time to talk much to them. Everyone was always so busy these days. Not that  _ that _ was much of a surprise.

"You know," he started, "when I joined the troops some years ago, I had really high hopes. I wanted to become famous and lead our people to victory." Even if he didn’t know much about Judas, it didn’t hurt telling him about himself. He felt like he could trust him with it. "We suffered a lot back home and I wanted to help everyone. They always said I caused so much trouble. They all laughed at me and said I’ll never get anywhere. The troops seemed like the best way to show them all, so I was super excited when I was finally old enough to join them. I thought it would be really easy."

Judas was watching him with round eyes.

"Turns out it wasn’t. I tried my best but looks like my best isn’t enough. They always say ‘Chaltier never thinks about his actions’ here and ‘he will get himself killed before the end of the month’ there." He shrugged. "Maybe they’re right. If everyone says it, there must be some truth to it, huh?"

"Chal..."

He had learned there was no helping into pitying himself but it helped letting it out to someone else for once. "I wanted to show everyone I’m not just a burden but looks like I’m not doing much progress." Forcing himself to smile, he added, "Sorry, didn’t mean to complain to you so much." His hand brushed his cheek. "I’m not gonna keep you awake any longer."

"It’s okay," Judas mouthed. There was something in his eyes, but Chaltier couldn’t quite grasp what exactly it was. Was it sympathy or pity?

His own eyes lit up. "But you and your friends! You are really amazing!" he blurted out. "I mean, just look at you all! Just appearing out of nowhere and earning everyone’s respect! You helped us so much already and I don’t know, it’s just amazing." He smiled. " _ You’re _ amazing. Where did you learn to fight like this? You’re still young too, so you must be a genius to begin with!"

No answer came. Instead, there was a lost look in Judas’ eyes, and Chaltier wondered if he had understood what he had said just now.  _ The fever must be messing with him more than I thought. Or did I say something wrong? _

"I'm keeping you awake again, huh? Sorry." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. Maybe he should just be quiet now. Suddenly, he understood what the others had meant when they were talking about his tongue being too fast for his brain to catch up.

But something inside his head was pressing him to talk to Judas, as if they were running out of time and there was so much he wanted to tell him. However, they weren't going anywhere, so why was he feeling so restless?

"Um, when this is over," he started, then his voice trailed off. His mind was blank suddenly, and he found himself drowning in Judas’ eyes, the lost look gone by now. Instead, they were sparkling and Chaltier was taken aback. There was something about them that left him speechless. He leaned closer and brushed hair out of his eyes. A thought fast as lightning crossed his mind, then another, until thoughts were swirling in his mind. Thoughts he didn’t dare to voice. But what if he did find the courage to do so? Wasn’t this what he longed for to do? To do what he wanted and not feel ashamed of it? To be proud of what he did?

"... I-I’m gonna get you some water." His face was ablaze. Without waiting for an answer, he got up and hurried to the door. When he shot one last glance over his shoulder, he saw Judas staring into his direction, yet his eyes unfocused and empty, his face blank again.

By the time Chaltier returned to the room, his mind was clear and he felt better than before. On his way back, he had met Lieutenant Karell who looked like he was searching for something, a frown adorning his face.

"Have you seen Harold?" he had asked.

Chaltier had shaken his head.

The lieutenant had sighed. "I didn’t have time to speak with her much today, but when I saw her earlier, she had that look on her face and I just  _ know  _ she’s up to no good again." It must have been because of that device she had asked Chaltier to carry for her. "Tell me if you see her, okay? I’m worried she might get into trouble again. Everyone knows she’s essential to our cause but who knows what the others will do if she crosses the line?"

Maybe it had been that twin bond the others had mentioned before but Chaltier wondered if it really was possible to understand what was going on in Dr. Harold’s mind. She was a genius but a scary one on top of that. No one could ever be sure what she’d do next. It was a common joke to scare new soldiers with the warning that they’d have to keep an eye open at night or they might wake up missing an arm or a leg. But Chaltier was sure that Dr. Harold wouldn’t actually do that. Well, almost sure.

Back in the room, Chaltier put the bucket down next to the bed and took off his gloves to avoid them getting wet. Then he soaked the cloth, shivering at the cold water, tiny icy teeth gnawing at his fingers. He wrung water out and put the cloth on Judas' forehead.

The boy let out a long sigh.

Chaltier smiled. "Does this feel better?"

Judas didn't respond. His chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm. He must have fallen asleep while Chaltier was gone. His breathing was still shallow and the mere sound of it unsettled Chaltier.

_ He'll feel better soon _ , he tried to convince himself.  _ He has to. _

Watching Judas, Chaltier sat in silence. He wondered if it made sense to take off Judas' clothes. It must be hot under the blanket and it should cool him down a little if he wore less? But he wouldn't do it without Judas' okay. He couldn't. Besides, he was sleeping so peacefully right now and it would be a shame to wake him. Who knew when the next coughing fit would violently grab hold of him again and jerk him awake? He should get all the sleep he could now.

Groaning, he shifted in his sleep. One bleary eye opened. "Hurts..." He clenched his eyes shut again. "Come... Chal..." His voice was slurred and Chaltier doubted he was fully awake. He must be talking in his sleep. Perhaps he was dreaming. "Help..."

If not before, now Chaltier could feel his heart shatter into small pieces. It hurt seeing him like this. But it was something he had to fight through himself. All he could do for him was to tuck him in tighter, when merciless trembles grasped his body.

He stuttered something but Chaltier couldn't understand him through clattering teeth.

"Shh. Don’t speak."

Suddenly, Judas’ eyes flew open, but he seemed to look right through Chaltier, mouth gaping. "No... no…!" His voice grew desperate, his breathing quicker. He was still trembling. "Don’t... don't kill her!" He started thrashing around as if he tried to push something away from him.

Watching him anxiously, Chaltier tried his best to keep him still. Who was he talking about? Who was about to die?

_ Maybe his mother? _

Eventually, the frantic movements stopped, the trembles died down and he closed his eyes again. "Don’t," he repeated over and over again, his voice dropping until it was nothing more than a low mutter. It wasn't long until his body relaxed and he found what Chaltier hoped was peaceful sleep.

Chaltier waited for a while, but Judas remained silent and still. He let out a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair. Was this what Atwight and the other members of the medical corps were dealing with regularly? It was already exhausting just watching Judas battle the fever. He didn't want to imagine how worn out Judas must be.

As he put the cloth on his forehead again, he spotted something lying beside the boy, half hidden under the blanket, half hidden under his arm, so that Chaltier couldn't make out what it was. He carefully tried to move Judas' arm but quickly stopped, when he started coughing. It was only a little at first, but then grew stronger with every cough. Hoping it would soothe the fit a little, he helped him to sit up and rubbed his back. The fit eventually died down, leaving Judas even weaker than before. Was there really nothing else he could do?

Judas' shaking hand finding rest on his arm. He let out a defeated groan and closed his eyes, slumping against Chaltier's body.

His heartbeat quickened, but he didn't dare to move. It took a while before he picked up the cloth and gently wiped the sweat from Judas' face. He put it aside and let his hand run through Judas' hair. It was soft and silky.

"Try to sleep some more," Chaltier whispered.

Judas didn't answer but shifted into what looked like a more comfortable position.

"It'd be easier to sleep if you lie down."

The only answer he got was a huff.

Chaltier smiled. "I'll stay but you gotta lie down, okay?" Did Judas even remember his dream? Did he know that he was talking in his sleep? He helped him into a lying position and tucked him in. "I'll be right beside you all the time."

Judas was watching him, violet eyes glassy with exhaustion. He opened his mouth but only a yawn escaped.

Reaching down, Chaltier soaked the cloth again and wrung it, then put it back on Judas' forehead.

"You'll get sick," Judas rasped.

It would be no good if he got sick before the final infiltration as well. What would the others say?

Lying down beside him, he rested his hand on his cheek. "It's important for you to get healthy again first," he simply said. Judas opened his mouth to protest, but he went on, "You wanted me to stay, right?"

Judas stayed silent, obviously unsure what to say. Most likely, he would have given him a snappy answer if he was well enough.

"If you need anything, just tell me, okay?"

Judas hummed in agreement and closed his eyes.

Chaltier watched him and listened to the sound of his unsteady breathing. Once the fever subdued, his breathing should get better as well, shouldn't it? Chaltier had heard worse, but the sound of it was far from healthy nonetheless.

Hopefully, Judas would find the strength to battle the sickness himself. Perhaps he really should go and ask Atwight later for help.

His eyelids grew heavy and he found himself fighting to keep his eyes open. He couldn't fall asleep just yet. What if Judas needed him? He had to stay awake.

But maybe he could just close his eyes for a moment and rest. He would notice when Judas needed him. Yes, he would just rest for a few moments.

When Chaltier opened his eyes again, his mind was hazy with sleep. That wasn't his room. But if it wasn't his, then whose was it?

Realization hit him when he saw Judas sleeping peacefully in his arms, his breath steadier and less raspy than before. When did he get so close to him? When did he put his arms around him?

He tried to pull his arm from underneath him but stopped, when Judas stirred.  _ Looks like I gotta wait until he wakes up _ , he thought.

_ Stay... _ Judas' plea resounded in his mind. He had promised him to stay. Besides, he didn't mind having Judas sleep in his arms. Quite the opposite! There was something comforting about being so close to him.

"When this is over, let's stay together, okay?" he whispered, finally finding the words he had wanted to say earlier. "I'll look after you."

Judas was still sleeping and probably didn't hear him, but that was okay. Chaltier would keep his word no matter what.

"Oh, Sleeping Beauty is finally awake?"

Letting out a yelp of surprise, Chaltier nearly fell out of the bed. Judas jerked awake. Shocked, Chaltier turned around to see Dr. Harold and Nanaly entering the room. Dr. Harold was smirking smugly at them.

Nanaly stepped closer to the bed to look at Judas. "Looks like the medicine worked. How are you feeling?"

Holding his head, Judas blinked at her. "Ugh, what happened? My head hurts like hell..." He groaned.

Nanaly frowned. "Was the medicine supposed to do that?"

Dr. Harold hummed. "Well, not the medicine Atwight gave you," she said. "But I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test my latest experiment! Atwight wouldn't let me test it on one of her patients, so I mixed some into the medicine and then gave it to you!"

"You did what?" Nanaly asked in exasperation.

Staring at her in shock, Chaltier pressed Judas close to his side, ignoring his protest. "What if you poisoned him?"

"I didn't poison him, don't worry. I made sure the dosage wasn't lethal. Besides, he's better now, right? Be grateful to me. We both got what we wanted. I was able to test my experiment and you got to sleep with your little lover in your arms~" She chuckled.

_ Lover?! _ Chaltier felt his face growing hot, matching the color of Judas’ face almost too well, and looked away sheepishly.

"Well, I still need to take some blood samples! It won't hurt, Judas~ Just be a good boy and stay still for a moment!" She waved a needle in front of Judas’ face.

Judas flinched away, scowling at Dr. Harold. "Go away, you demon!" He tried to scramble over Chaltier, but with Dr. Harold trying to hold him still, he ended up falling down with Chaltier.

Dr. Harold hummed after she was done. "See? It didn't hurt! If only you'd be that obedient all the time~" She left the room, muttering something under her breath excitedly.

For only a heartbeat’s length, horror shadowed Judas' eyes. Was it caused by her words? Most likely, it was just the shock of suddenly having her draw some blood from him, Chaltier was sure.

"Are you okay?" Chaltier asked, helping him up.

Judas nodded, coughing. "I'm fine," he snapped, but he still leaned into the touch. Chaltier couldn't hide his smile.

Nanaly inspected the spot where Dr. Harold had drawn blood. "Someone really needs to stop that woman," she grumbled, shaking her head. "Sorry to interrupt you two. I'll make sure Harold leaves you alone for now. And everyone else too. It was already a battle keeping Kyle outside, but knowing him, he would have just woken both of you and caused Judas more stress." To Chaltier, she added, "I'm sure you'll take care of Judas until then, right?"

"Huh? Uh, r-right!" Chaltier stuttered.

Judas huffed. "I don't need to be cared for!"

Nanaly rolled her eyes and walked to the door. "Make sure you get better soon! From what I heard, they're planning to leave tomorrow, now that the Swordians are complete and we don't want to leave you behind!" She said, winking, as she left.

Chaltier's thoughts were spinning, but he didn't have much time to focus on them. Judas slumped against him and he looked like he was trying to suppress another coughing fit. "Come on, let's get you back to bed." He helped him up and nudged him towards the bed.

Judas groaned. "Stupid woman, causes nothing but problems."

"How are you feeling?"

It took a while until Judas answered, his brow furrowed. "Better, kind of. Still hurts, though." His voice was steadier but Chaltier thought he could hear him wheezing slightly.

"You’ll feel better after sleeping." Chaltier tucked him in again, then reached for the water bottle he now spotted on the night stand. Nanaly must have left it there. With a pang, he remembered that he hadn't offered Judas anything to drink all the time. He must be dying of thirst by now. "Here, you should drink something." He held it close to Judas' mouth.

Sitting up, Judas took it and gulped down half of the bottle as if he was just reminded of his thirst.

"Easy! It's not good to drink so hastily! You might choke!"

Judas winced, followed by another coughing fit as strong as the ones he had before. It calmed after some moments. "Stop worrying about me!" he scolded, but the lingering anxiety in his eyes outweighed his rough tone. What was worrying him so much? Had he said something wrong again?

Instead of asking, Chaltier just pulled him close and rubbed his back softly. "I’m sorry," he muttered into Judas’ hair, when the boy leant his head against his shoulder. After a while, he could feel the tips of Judas' fingers digging into one of his sleeves.

Neither spoke a word. They sat like this for what felt like an eternity. Chaltier enjoyed the closeness, and some parts of him hoped dearly that Judas felt the same. Something tied his tongue and for once, he was actually grateful for it. General Dymlos and the others often scolded him for being too impulsive. At least it would stop him from ruining the moment. Even if there were so many things he wanted to say sitting at the tip of his tongue.

It was Judas who eventually broke the silence. "Chal, can you promise me something?"

Chal... Judas had called him by this earlier that day, and he liked the tone of it. Everyone else called him by his last name as well, but shortened and coming from Judas, it sounded special. "Sure."

He could almost feel Judas scowl against his shoulder. "You don't even know what I want to ask you."

Smiling, Chaltier drew back to look at him, but he could feel his heart beating faster. "Just tell me."

Judas averted his gaze and took a deep breath. "No matter what happens tomorrow, promise me you won't be angry with me."

He didn't understand. "What?" He laughed nervously. "Why are you asking that?"

Judas frowned, his glassy eyes narrowed. "Doesn't matter! Just... just promise me." His gaze softened. "Plea-" He broke off as yet another coughing fit surged through his body.

Worried, Chaltier pressed him against himself, holding him closer. He waited until the fit stopped, before vowing, "I don't know what's this about, but I don't think I could ever be." Hopefully, Judas would believe him. After all, he was being completely honest.

Sighing, Judas rested his head on his shoulder. "I'm tired."

Chaltier pushed him back gently. "Then sleep some more. I'll make sure no one comes in." He wanted to ask Judas if he knew something Chaltier didn't. He obviously did. Otherwise, he wouldn't be asking, would he? But part of him feared the answer, so he stayed quiet and pushed away the lingering curiosity. Judas seemed too exhausted to argue about this anyway. If he wanted to tell him, he would surely do so.

For once, Judas didn't complain and let Chaltier take care of him. His features softened. "Thank you," he whispered.

Chaltier smiled back. "Don't worry about it."

Frowning, Judas looked like he wanted to say some more, but no matter how long Chaltier waited, nothing else came. He just rolled on his side and closed his eyes.

Leaning down, Chaltier stroked his cheek softly and watched him for a while. The wheeze really had returned to his breathing, and he wondered if it was just the medicine wearing off.  _ How long did we sleep anyway? _ If Dr. Harold and Nanaly hadn’t come in, Judas would have been able to rest longer and hopefully sleep through the worst of the illness.

_ I really have to make sure he doesn’t get bothered again! _ Chaltier vowed, nodding eagerly to himself. Maybe then he would be fit by tomorrow again and could join them on their final mission to Dycroft.

_ Tomorrow _ , they would leave for Dycroft. It still seemed so far away. Tomorrow, the war might end already. Everything would get better then.

But what would he do after that? He didn’t know. Not that he doubted they would win, however, there was a thought spinning in his head, a thought he wasn’t sure if he wanted to push it away or carry it out. With everything bound to change once they’d kill Miktran and end the war that already lasted too long and cost too many lives, he might just find the courage to act on his gut feeling, to act on this one thought.

"Chal..." Judas breathed, already too deep in sleep’s embrace to notice anything around him.

What would happen to Judas tomorrow? What if he went with them and relapsed? What - Chaltier could barely stand the thought - oh what if he  _ died _ ?

_ No _ , he told himself,  _ that won’t happen. _ Judas was strong. Surely, he would get better by tomorrow. Besides, his friends would be able to protect him.  _ He  _ would be able to protect him. Nothing was going to happen to Judas. Chaltier would make sure of it for as long as his heart was beating in his chest. He couldn’t describe this feeling inside him. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. However, he knew that there had to be a connection between him and Judas, whatever connection that might be.

When everything was over, they might stay together. Although he was convinced that they couldn’t - relationships of any kind never wanted to work out for him in the long run -, he prayed that he wouldn’t have to say goodbye to Judas.

"I don’t want you to leave," he muttered into his ear. It was a gut feeling. He didn't know if Judas and his friends would really leave, but the feeling inside him was too strong to reconsider.

As expected, Judas didn’t answer.

Ignoring his fluttering heart, Chaltier pressed a tender kiss to his forehead. He felt warm again. The stress just now must have been too much for him. But that was nothing to worry about. Judas was going to be better again and until then, Chaltier would care for him.


End file.
